


Like A Drum (Baby, Don't Stop Beating)

by exitthequitters



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mythology, Camp Half-Blood, It's a percy jackson au, M/M, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, They are the sons of greek gods, camp half-blood: where dreams come true
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-01
Updated: 2013-08-01
Packaged: 2017-12-22 02:07:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/907618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/exitthequitters/pseuds/exitthequitters
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>They walk through the camp together hand in hand, past the big house where Chiron waves happily at them, past the strawberry field where Louis first kissed Harry, past the lake where Louis first met Zayn and Liam, past the dinning hall where Niall sat down next to Louis before he knew he shouldn’t, and to Harry’s cabin.</i>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Or, they're all sons of Greek gods at a summer camp for demigods.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Like A Drum (Baby, Don't Stop Beating)

**Author's Note:**

> Alright quick run down if you know nothing about the camp half-blood series: its a summer camp for kids who are the children of a greek god and a human. Zeus is head god also lightning, Apollo is the sun god also poetry, Aphrodite is the goddess of love and beauty, Athena is the goddess of wisdom, Hermes is the god of thieves and other miscellaneous stuff, Ares is the god of war and I think those are the only ones mentioned. And a satyr is a half-human half-goat thing.  
> I'm pretty sure that's all you need to know but let me know if there's anything confusing or something.  
> Thanks Mallory for being cool.  
> [My tumblr](exitthewritter.tumblr.com) and [Mallory's!](buttercup-lou.tumblr.com)

Louis is waiting for him when Harry gets to camp. He’s lounging on the ground by the large oak tree that marks the camp’s border, and Harry giggles because his boyfriend resembles a puppy sitting by the front door for his best friend to come home. 

Harry stops at the thought, his duffel bag slipping off his shoulder, because Louis is his _boyfriend_. It’s still new, their relationship, even if they’re coming up on a year now. They got together at the end of last summer and only got two wonderful weeks together before Harry had to go back home to Colorado while Louis stayed at camp in Long Island. Louis calls when he can, but it’s hard for him to feel safe calling Harry, being a son of Zeus and all. 

Louis jumps up when he sees Harry, a brilliantly bright smile taking over his face as he jumps up and down in place next to the tree. Harry drops his bag and takes off running towards his boyfriend, barely able to contain how excited he is to be able to spend a whole summer with Louis. 

Harry jumps into waiting arms, his long limbs wrapping around Louis’ neck while Louis lifts him with his hands on his slim hips, spinning him onto the camp’s property. The familiar laugh takes over Harry’s senses while Louis places him gently on the ground, his boy safe with his back pressed to the ground in the shade of the tree and Louis protectively looming over him. 

“I missed you.” Harry whispers, lifting his head up to tuck his face into Louis neck, perfectly content to stay in this place with Louis for the rest of the summer.

“I missed you, too.” Louis tucks a strand of Harry’s unruly hair away, beaming with how happy he is to see his boy. “You’ve gotten so tall, it a bit ridiculous. You’re sixteen and taller than me, how is that fair?” 

“It’s not my fault I’m dating a pixie!” Harry cries, pushing his boyfriend off of him. They stand and Louis watches Harry with careful eyes while Harry retrieves his bag, practically skipping back to him. 

They walk through the camp together hand in hand, past the big house where Chiron waves happily at them, past the strawberry field where Louis first kissed Harry, past the lake where Louis first met Zayn and Liam, past the dinning hall where Niall sat down next to Louis before he knew he shouldn’t, and to Harry’s cabin. 

Most of Harry’s siblings are already inside the Aphrodite cabin. They’re sorting their clothes by color and placing them careful in the cabin’s walk in closet. Harry throws his duffle down on a free bed and follows Louis back to his cabin. 

-

Liam’s father drives Liam and Zayn to camp. It’s not a long drive, a little less than an hour, but they pass the time playing word games and annoying Liam’s father from the back seat. 

The truth is Liam and Zayn are the kind of couple that annoys people. They’ve been dating for four years with no sign of breaking up. They have inside jokes and ways of speaking through quirked lips and raised eyebrows that outsiders could never hope to understand. Liam’s dad certainly is annoyed, if the way he’s rolling his eyes in the rear view mirror is any indication, and Zayn thinks he should apologize. 

“Thank you for the ride, Mr. Payne.” Zayn says, in hopes of appeasing his boyfriend’s father. They get along well, Mr. Payne accepting long ago that Zayn isn’t really going anywhere, but it never hurts to make sure that doesn’t change. 

“Not a problem, Zayn.” Liam’s father grumbles. Zayn knows he’s thinking through new decisions for some sort of something. Zayn still isn’t sure what the man does, he’s not sure Liam even really knows, but he’s sure its something difficult and complicated and proves how smart Mr. Payne is. 

“It’s going to be a good summer.” Liam whispers, snuggling into Zayn’s side. There’s no space between them, the pair not good with distance, and Zayn thinks its already a good summer. “Three months of us and our friends and camp, and I’m really excited.”

“I’m excited too, Li. Think I’m finally going to teach you how to ride a horse.” Zayn smiles and laughs as Liam blushes and tucks his head against Zayn’s neck. 

“I’m working on it!” Liam cries. “I can teach you how to shoot a bow and arrow, if you want.” 

“Sure, I could always use a new skill.” Zayn shrugs and presses his hand to Liam’s back, feeling the vibrations as he laughs. 

“I’ve missed you.” Liam mutters.

“I haven’t been anywhere, Liam. We live maybe three minutes away.” Zayn chuckles.

“It’s not the same as when you’re across the yard.” Liam mumbles. 

“We’re here boys.” Mr. Payne calls from the front, coming to an abrupt stop at the bottom of the hill leading up to the camp. They climb out, Liam grabbing both of their bags from the trunk and saying good-bye to his dad. Zayn watches on in awe at the easy way Liam interacts with his dad. 

Liam stops them by the tree, pushing Zayn’s back against the tree and dropping their bags. He kisses Zayn the way they can’t with Liam’s dad around. Zayn feels warm from the summer heat and the close proximity of Liam in a way that isn’t entirely unpleasant. Yes, it’s going to be a good summer for Zayn, spent with a boy he absolutely adores. 

-

Louis’ cabin looks different then Harry remembers, every corner finally feeling like Louis. The whole room is light and open and like Louis doesn’t mind staying. Harry remembers the room with the heavy curtains and more furniture than the room could hold, all meticulously placed by Zeus himself. Zeus tries, more than Harry’s mother does, but he ought to just let Louis do things his own way. He’s eighteen now, Zeus ought to trust him to at least leave the camp. 

Harry walks around the room, touching he new additions, pretending he’s interested in the pictures some of the younger campers have drawn for Louis over the year. He’ll look at them again later, but right now Louis is in front of him for the first time in a long time, and Harry intends on taking full advantage of it. 

Louis wraps an arm around Harry’s middle, his lips finally, _finally_ , touching Harry’s skin, pressing warmly to his neck. Harry sighs happily, melting into Louis. The older boy turns Harry around and walks them back to the bed. Louis gently settles Harry on the bed, centered in a nest of pillows, always so careful with Harry, before climbing on top of him. Louis’ small hands settle on either side of Harry’s head while Harry grips at Louis t-shirt, pulling him closer and finally connecting their lips. They kiss lazily, getting reacquainted with the way they moved together. Louis hovers over Harry, more cautious than he usually is, and Harry would ask what changed while they were apart if he wasn’t so content at the moment. 

Niall bursting into the cabin ruins the moment, of course, with Zayn and Liam close behind. Niall is sparkling with energy and he’s eyes can’t focus on any one person’s face, like he can’t believe they’re all in the same place at the same time. Zayn has an arm thrown easily over Liam’s shoulder, everything about his body language saying he’s waxing poetics about Liam’s smile in the sunlight. 

“Already, guys? You just got here.” Liam raises a good-hearted eyebrow at Harry and Louis’ swollen lips. 

“Sorry, Li, my boyfriend doesn’t live down the street from me.” Louis replies, pulling Harry up and into his side, and rolls his eyes as Liam blushes. He’s been dating Zayn for four years now and still gets giddy when someone brings it up.

“We are really sorry to break up the reunion but I missed you guys so pay attention to me!” Niall cries. 

“Our bad, Niallers. Would it make you feel better if we group hugged?” Harry asks, already wrapping Niall up in his arms. 

“It’s a good start.” Niall mumbles, and the three other members of their little group join the hug. “I just really missed you guys. It sucks being a child of Hermes! I have so many damn siblings but none of them actually care about me. Not like you guys do.” Louis pets at Niall’s hair, knowing that the boy still doesn’t feel like he belongs here, even with this being his third summer. 

“Let’s go down to the lake, hm? You love the lake.” Louis links arms with Niall on one side and Harry on the other, looking down the line to make sure he has everyone. They walk to the lake together, everyone back in their element being at camp and with each other. 

They sit by the lake for the rest of the day, watching Zayn’s father, Apollo, pull the sun across the sky, leaning all over each other and catching up. Liam tells stories about his mother, Athena, and his father working together to improve Olympus. He says a lot of words the others don’t understand, but Zayn looks at him like he’s completely intrigued by whatever it is Liam’s babbling about. They swap stories of graduation ceremonies while Harry looks on in awe, completely ready to be done with school. 

“You guys are adorable,” Louis tells them, the sun playing with the angles of his face as he looks up at his friends, “getting so excited over school. I didn’t even go to real school and I turned out just fine!”

“You went to demigod school, Lou! That’s got to be much harder than normal high school.” Zayn says. He’s sitting behind Liam, as far from the lake as possible without leaving the dock they’re sitting on, and Louis remembers they still have to teach him how to swim. 

“Hi Andy!” Liam calls, spotting Andy walking around with some of his siblings. 

“Liam!” He walks over smiling, but practically sneers when he sees Louis and Harry. “You two still together, then?” 

“Uh, yeah.” Louis replies, softly rubbing the inside of Harry’s wrist. “Is that a problem?” 

“I’ll see you around, Liam.” Andy walks back to his siblings and towards the archery range, his siblings throwing them glares as they leave.

“How come Andy has a problem with me and Louis, but not you and Zayn?” Harry asks Liam as he reclines against Louis’ chest. 

“Because he’s a dick, don’t worry about him, Hazza.” Louis answers, his hands instantly in Harry’s curls. “Seriously, Liam, you know you don’t have to talk to him?”

“He’s not that bad, Louis.” Liam says, sighing when they all throw him a disbelieving look. “Alright, he’s not that bad when it’s just me. We’ve known each other for a while. He’s a son of Ares, so he thinks he’s got something to prove or something.”

“How do you feel about that, Malik?” Niall asks, laughing at some campers on horseback nearby. 

“Not good.” Zayn replies. “But I trust Liam.”

“That’s so sweet!” Niall exclaims, pulling Liam and Zayn into a tight hug. 

Harry hears hooves hitting the ground heavily behind him and turns just in time to see Josh barreling towards them. Josh hits Niall hard, pushing him over and almost into the lake.

“Sorry! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to, I just kind of stumbled a bit and lost my footing. I’m sorry.” Josh jumps off of the blonde boy quickly, pulling him up and dusting him off. 

“It’s alright, Josh. How’ve you been?” Niall asks sweetly, pushing at Josh’s hair so his horns are clearly visible. 

“Pretty good, pretty quiet. There’s not much for a satyr to do around these parts when the campers aren’t around. But everyone’s back now and its time for dinner.” Josh replies quickly. 

“Okay Josh, we’ll be right there!” Niall smiles and Josh blushes and runs off before the others can acknowledge him. 

“You make him so nervous, Niall!” Louis says with a laugh. 

“I think that’s just Josh’s personality.” Niall suggest, shrugging. 

“That’s all you. It’s adorable.” Harry insists, fake swooning into Niall’s arms. 

“Can we talk about this after dinner?” Niall asks, shoving Harry away from him. “I’m too hungry for this conversation!”

-

Dinner always goes like this: they enter the dinning hall together but immediately split. Niall sits on the edge of the Hermes table, listening to his siblings talk loudly over him every time he tries to participate in their conversations. Harry sits next to Eleanor at the Aphrodite table. Harry doesn’t have many siblings and he’s one of the oldest so he has some seniority at dinner. Liam is the head consoler for Athena so he has the head seat at the table and spends most of his meals answering questions for the younger campers. Zayn lets the conversations of his siblings at the Apollo table waft over him, looking longingly at Liam. 

And Louis. Louis sits alone at a lavish table designed for at least twenty. Children of Zeus are powerful and as such, always seen as a target. Louis has no siblings, it would be too dangerous for them, it’s too dangerous for him, but he tries not to think about it. Tries not to think that he’s been living at Camp Half-Blood for sixteen years and still feels like the only family he has gets taken away from him every night when they eat. 

Louis has no one to talk to so he spends dinner keeping an eye on his friends. Camp is safe, Louis knows that, but he feels like the best thing his father ever gave him was this desire to protect the people he loves. So he keeps an eye on his friends and Harry, protecting his family now that he can. 

New campers walk past his table with that look in their eyes and Louis knows to them he’s an outcast. The start of the summer is always like this. It always takes the new campers a bit of time to realize that Louis doesn’t _like_ being alone.

“Psst.” Louis hears quietly through the fray of voices surrounding him. He looks around to see Harry Styles sitting pretty on his left. He smiles coyly, and yeah, Harry’s talent is definitely sneaking. 

“What are you doing here?” Louis whispers, ducking his head and pulling Harry in with him. “You’re supposed to be at the Aphrodite table.”

“You looked so sad. Wanted to come cheer you up.” Harry shrugs and places one of his large hands on Louis’ thigh. He steals a piece of Louis’ chicken and smiles and Louis really wants to kiss Harry. 

“You know someone’s going to tell you to leave.” Louis mutters, folding Harry’s hand so it fits in his.

“I know. But in the mean time I can keep you company.” Harry smiles and scouts impossibly closer. They kiss easily, careful not to draw attention to much attention to themselves. They have just enough time for Louis to get comfortable, for Louis to realize he wants this to be his life. 

He wants Harry by his side forever.

The realization should shock him or make him pause. Instead it just feels natural, like the obvious progression of their relationship leads to Harry and Louis being together for as long as they both shall live.

Louis holds Harry close, reveling in how they fit together. “I’m glad you’re back.” Louis murmurs against Harry’s lips. “I missed you.”

“Harry!” Louis groans and turns, seeing a very angry looking satyr. He must be one of those satyrs that works backstage because Louis’ never seen him before. “Unless you have recently been claimed by Zeus, you need to go to back to your table.” 

“Sorry.” Harry giggles, a charming smile on his face.

“Come to my cabin after dinner?” Louis whispers in Harry’s ear. Harry rolls his eyes and makes his way back to his table, shrugging off the excited questions of his siblings. They’ve always been way too invested in Harry’s relationship. 

“Louis,” the satyr says, “I’d remind you to follow the camp rules. You might be one of the oldest campers here but you are not above the rules.” 

Louis rolls his eyes and watches the satyr walk away, alone once again.

-

Harry quickly falls back into the swing of camp. He spends his days racing Niall up the rock wall and helping Zayn groom some of the horses. Louis tries to teach Harry how to spar with a sword but he’s holding too much back. Louis’ always been gentle with Harry but in the past it’s been caring while now it feels almost fearful. 

But Harry remembers the one time he met Zeus. He remembers him telling Harry that Louis is powerful and capable of wonderful things but that also means there are things out there that will do whatever they can to keep Louis from doing wonderful things. He remembers Zeus sadly telling Louis that his mother died trying to protect him from a Minotaur. 

Louis has been protecting Harry from the moment they met, and Harry wants to be able to do the same, should he ever have to.

So while Louis is teaching some of the newer campers how to steer a chariot, Liam and Harry sneak to the arena to work on sword fighting. 

The problem is Harry is a bit useless with a sword. It’s like he doesn’t have complete control over all of his limbs. Liam is patient with him, showing him how to defend himself and strike over and over again, but Harry just can’t seem to move like Liam does, can’t make his movements fluid yet precise like he’s seen Louis and Liam do.

They try other weapons to see if maybe something else is right for Harry, bows and arrows, long swords, javelins, but nothing feels right in his hands. He’s starting to feel comfortable with a simple knife when things start to go bad again. 

The plan all along is not to let Louis know he’s trying to learn to fight but there’s no way he won’t notice the long cut running the entire length of his right arm. 

It’s stupid really. Harry’s was practicing with a straw mannequin when he slips and drops the knife and cuts himself. It’s dumb. It bleeds but it doesn’t hurt. His cuts not bad enough to freak out and go to the infirmary and get it fixed but it’s bad enough for Louis to notice.

-

Harry avoids Louis for as long as he can. It’s not a big deal, Harry knows that, but Louis isn’t going to see it that way. Louis’ been so protective recently and Harry just can’t figure out where its coming from. It’s nice, knowing Louis cares about him enough to watch out for him but Harry’s waiting for the catch. 

Harry gives up the game after dinner, partly because he doesn’t want Louis to think he’s mad at him, and partly because he hasn’t seen Louis all day and he misses him. Harry walks to Louis’ cabin after dinner, knowing his t-shirt shows off his stupid, self-inflicted battle wound. 

Louis notices the moment he opens the door, of course. He cradles Harry’s arm gently in his hands and pulls him into the cabin, sitting him on the bed and asking rapid-fire questions. 

“Louis, please, I’m okay. I’m just dumb.” Harry says evenly, careful of whatever going on with Louis. He uses his free hand to tilt Louis’ face away from his cut and to his eyes. Louis’ deep blue eyes are cloudy and they’re making Harry nervous.

“What happened? Who did this to you?” Louis asks, his voice far away.

“No one did this to me, I slipped and cut myself. I didn’t mean to.” Harry replies. 

Louis looks at him with questioning eyes, his fingers rubbing over the top of Harry’s hand. “I’m confused, can you start from the beginning?” 

“I don’t know how to fight and I wanted to learn. So I was at the arena and I was practicing with a knife and I took a bad step and… it was a accident.” Louis’ eyes are back on the long cut and Harry sighs. “Please look at me, Louis.” Harry waits patiently for Louis to look at him but he’s tracing his wound with his eyes. Harry pulls his arm away from Louis and hides it behind his back, forcing Louis to meet his eyes. “This isn’t a big deal.”

“I thought I was teaching you to fight. Why do you want to learn anyways?” Louis asks suddenly, his eyes a bit sharp. 

“You were just being really careful with me and if I want to be able to protect you I have to be able to hold my own.” Harry shrugs and looks down, hiding from the look in Louis’ eyes. 

“You don’t have to protect me. I’m good if you’re good.” Louis says sternly. 

“No, Louis, I don’t want this to work that way.” Harry scoots farther back on the bed, forcing Louis to follow him. “I’m allowed to be worried about you, I’m your boyfriend.” 

“Why are you worried about me?” Louis asks softly, the whole mood in the cabin shifting to something much more fragile. 

“I don’t know, you’ve just been in a weird mood recently. I don’t know what’s going on with you, but you’ve been acting like you’re trying to keep me from something that only you see coming.” Harry tilts his head so his temple is pressed to Louis’, enclosing them in their own world. Louis’ quiet, taking deep breathes.

“Colorado is not a good place for people like us, you know that. It’s easier for monsters to get us. And you live there!” Louis closes his eyes and presses his nose underneath Harry’s ear. “And I’ve been getting these dreams from my dad. He’s trying to tell me something, I just can’t figure out what. If it’s from him though, it must be important.”

“We can figure it out, okay?” Harry says, kissing Louis’ closed eyelid. “But you got to keep me clued in. I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s going on.”

“Alright, Hazza. First thing tomorrow, I’ll tell you everything. And we’ll work on that fighting thing.” Louis lays them down on the bed, getting comfortable with Harry resting on his chest. 

“I don’t know how well that’ll work out. I think I’m more of a lover than a fighter.” Harry says sleepily. 

“We’ll see what we can do in the morning. Sleep now.” Louis winds one hand into Harry’s hair and another under his thin shirt, falling sound asleep with the knowledge that Harry is safe with him. 

-

They have a campfire, because they’re at summer camp and that’s what people at summer camp do. It might be a bit of an unorthodox summer camp and they might be unorthodox campers, being the children of gods, but they all like to pretend they’re normal.

Niall sits in the middle, near the fire, strumming his guitar with a large smile on his face as Josh looks on with admiration. Josh isn’t even pretending to sing along, just tapping his foot to the beat and watching Niall lead the camp in the sing along. 

Louis wraps an arm around Harry, feeding him bits of his s’mores, watching and giggling while Harry’s green eyes droop as he rests against Louis’ side. He’s exhausted, Louis can tell, from spending most of his day trying to use a sword and helping Josh with some of the cooking. Louis’ getting more comfortable with Harry learning to fight, but it still makes him nervous to think about it. If Harry has to fight it means Louis can’t for whatever reason.

The whole camp is up and in the same place, swaying and singing and laughing, but the air around them feels calm and secure. Zayn is holding Liam’s hips while Liam sings and sways to the song Niall is playing and Harry is warm and soft and tired and everything Louis needs is right in front of him. Louis wants to live in this moment forever, or at least preserve it so he can pull it out when he’s alone at camp and feeling lonely. Niall, Zayn, and Liam haven’t told him what they plan on doing now that they’re out of school, but Louis can guess that they’re not going to be hanging around Camp Half-Blood. 

Louis happy, truly happy, almost as happy as he was the first time he kissed Harry, almost a year ago. It’s a perfect moment, the kind Louis never thought he would get.

So of course it has to abruptly end. 

It starts with a vibration pulsing through the ground under Louis feet. It’s faint and far off and Louis can brush it off as just nervous energy from the other campers, and just pulls Harry closer. Then the wind picks up, blowing around the flames from the fire and the candy bar wrappers that litter the ground. Louis writes that one off on the full moon. Finally the fire goes out in one fatal swoop as Louis hears a deep, dark growl some distance behind him, definitely from in the forest. 

The campers go quiet as Niall stops playing and Harry’s eyes snap open. Louis sits silent, listening. There’s something in the camp that shouldn’t be, that much is clear, and Louis needs it gone before it gets too close to his family.

“What is that?” Niall whispers from somewhere close to Louis side. Their group has made its way to Louis, standing behind him as they all watch the forest for any sign of movement. Josh is trembling, holding tightly to Niall’s arm, but he stands in front of Niall, a protective stance taking over the satyr, his dedication to his job and Niall astonishing to Louis.

A large claw comes out the tree before Louis can react, shoving him away. The force of it forces him through the air and far, far away from his friends. He hears Harry yell and his thoughts scream to get back to him before he hits something hard and fast. Then everything hurts for one bright second as the earth screams in Louis’ ears. Then everything fades, and Louis feels nothing.

-

The campers charge into the forest, completely ignoring Harry as he makes his way to Louis. The boy’s body is in a crumbled heap, his skin pale as blood flows from the open gash on the back of his head. He must have landed harshly on the rock formation his body is conforming to. He looks like he’s sinking into the earth, being completely taken from the camp and Harry. 

Harry falls to his knees next to his boyfriend. He cradles the boy to his chest, holding his close and pressing a hand to the back of Louis’ head in an attempt to stop any more blood from escaping. Harry rocks them back and forth, completely shaking as he whispers in Louis’ ear. 

“Wake up, wake up, wake up.” Harry chants. “Come on, Louis, you can do it. Please Lou, I need you to wake up.” Tears flow freely from Harry’s eyes as Louis lays unresponsive in his arms. He wraps a hand around Louis’ wrist, feeling for a pulse, and he swears he feels something, but it’s impossible to tell with how badly he’s shaking. 

He rearranges Louis’ body so he’s completely supported against Harry’s chest before standing. He walks as steadily as possible towards the infirmary, Louis’ head lolling on his shoulder. There’s no one in the infirmary when Harry walks in, everyone outside to help fight whatever is out there. Harry puts Louis on a bed, before grabbing Louis’ small hand in his and holding it to his chest, saying a prayer to Aphrodite that Louis will just wake up.

-

Liam springs into action the moment he sees Louis flying through the air. He pulls his sword out of his holster, rushing towards whatever the thing in the forest is, with Zayn close behind him. There’s chaos everywhere Liam looks but he stays low to the ground, dodging trees and other campers. 

Whatever it is they’re fighting is big, taking up more space then Liam thought possible. There are scales and claws and way too many heads and Liam doesn’t see Louis anywhere. He’s down, that for certain, so far down that he’s not out here fighting, protecting the camp. 

Liam fights in a haze, his eyes only focusing long enough to notice Zayn and Niall and that the hydra, definitely a hydra, now that Liam’s getting a better look at all the heads filling the forest, is still moving, still fighting back. There are other campers around doing what they can against the hydra, but it’s a losing battle, that much is obvious. The only thing keeping Liam going is Zayn’s shield popping in front of Liam exactly when he needs it and that the hydra seems to have no objective besides destruction. It’s swinging randomly, knocking down trees and various campers, while the heads stare openly down at the camp. 

He wants to run away, to the apartment he shares with his dad, because this is hopeless and Louis is out cold and he hasn’t seen Harry the whole battle. He feels tired and his sword is heavy in his hands, every swing harder than the last. Liam wants to sit down, let the hydra eat him or tear him to pieces, anything so this ends.

A bolt of lightning dances across the sky, startling Liam and the hydra, warming the air with electricity. Everyone freezes and watches as the lightning swirls through the night sky and across the moon before striking the hydra right in the middle of its chest. The hydra stops thrashing and starts twitching and the other campers take off running. Zayn grabs Liam’s wrist as he rushes past but Liam is frozen in place, completely unable to move. 

“Come on, Liam!” Zayn cries, grabbing his boyfriend around the middle and tossing him over his shoulder. Zayn carries Liam through the forest and Liam watches as the hydra collapses, crashing heavily to the forest floor, taking out multiple trees with the loudest crash Camp Half-Blood has ever heard.

-

Liam sits with Harry in the infirmary while Zayn and Niall help get rid of the hydra. It’s paralyzed, not dead, and it needs to be off of camp grounds before it starts moving again. They also need to figure out how it got in before anything else does too. They pop in every now and then to tell Liam how its going and see if Louis’ woken up yet.

Josh stops the bleeding and bandages up Louis’ head but that’s really all he can do. He tells Harry to wait, that Louis’ tough and to just give it time, that Louis will wake up. But Harry doesn’t hear it, doesn’t hear anything, except Louis’ soft breathing. He’s alive and that should be enough for Harry but it’s not. He needs Louis awake and smiling and _his_. 

Harry won’t let go of Louis’ hand, won’t stop pressing at where he can feel Louis’ soft pulse. He can’t speak, can’t look away from the place where his skin touches Louis’ and pray to his mother over and over that Louis would just open his eyes.

Liam gives up eventually and leaves with Zayn and Niall. The infirmary is full of campers who got hurt fighting the hydra, but Harry feels completely alone in the world. 

-

“What are we going to do?” Zayn asks, the minute they’re away from Harry.

“Is there anything we can do?” Niall adds. He won’t meet Zayn or Liam’s eyes and Liam thinks they might be loosing him too. He vows to talk to Niall as soon as he gets the chance.

“Are we talking about Louis or the hydra?” Liam asks. 

“Does it matter? Both.” Zayn replies. 

“We can’t carry the hydra. It’s too heavy.” Liam starts after a moment. “And we can’t cut it into pieces. It would get too out of hand if the hydra became un-paralyzed.”

“So what then?” Zayn touches Liam’s elbow, urging him to continue. 

“I guess we could use some of the flying horses and carry the hydra into the lake. We need to find a place to dump it anyways.” Zayn nods and Liam slides his fingers down his arm and into Zayn’s hand. 

“And Louis?” Niall asks. “Is Louis going to be okay, Liam?” 

“Of course, Ni. Louis is tough, you know that. A bump on the head isn’t going to keep him down.” Liam says, a calm smile on his face.

“Stop that.” Niall replies harshly. 

“Stop what?” Liam’s face falls as he notices how hard Niall’s eyes are. 

“Stop acting like you have to protect me by lying. I can handle it, okay? Just tell me the truth.” Niall states, his every muscle tense. 

Liam sighs heavily, his shoulders dropping and face crumbling. “He might not wake up. He hit his head pretty hard. And even if he does wake up, he might have severe brain damage. Might not remember us, or the camp, or anything. Sorry, Niall.”

“Okay.” Niall runs a hand through his hair, turns on his heels, and takes off running.

“He’ll be okay.” Zayn says, though Liam isn’t sure if he’s talking about Niall or Louis. “I’ll be at the stables.” 

He walks away and Liam feels like he’s feet aren’t on solid ground. Liam watches Zayn leave and wants to scream at him to come back, to not leave until Liam feels like they’ll make it through this. But Liam stays silent and Zayn keeps walking.

-

“I’d drop out of school, if you wanted.” Harry says to Louis. He’s still got a tight hold on Louis’ delicate wrist but it doesn’t seem as solid anymore. “I wouldn’t mind. School sucks anyways and I don’t like being away from you. And I think you get lonely here, by yourself, while everyone else is out in the real world.”

He’s speaking softly, like he’s trying not to disturb anyone, but it’s just him and Louis. The other campers who got hurt were patched up and sent to their cabins hours ago, but not Louis. Louis’ still sick, still can’t leave because he _still won’t wake up_. 

“I know you can’t leave the camp and I know that bugs you but it doesn’t have to. We could live here together. We could get a room in the big house and you can teach the campers how to fight and I can do all the boring stuff you don’t want to do.” Harry moves his free hand to push some of Louis’ hair off of his face and scoots closer to Louis. 

Harry and Louis have never really talked about what they’re going to do once Harry’s out of school but Harry’s got a pretty good idea of what’ll happen. Louis can’t leave the camp and Harry never wants to leave Louis so they’ll live at the camp. It’s obvious to Harry but maybe Louis doesn’t know.

“I know its not, like, a spectacular plan or the type of life people make movies about. But I think it could work for us. I don’t really care what we do actually, as long as I’m with you.” Harry stops and takes a shaky breath, tugging the blanket around Louis closer around Louis’ shoulders. “You get that don’t you? That I want to be with you forever? I want to be with you forever.”

Harry looks around the empty room then back to Louis’ still face. He can feel himself crying again and all he wants is for Louis to comfort him. Harry looks up at the celling, trying to catch his breath. 

“Aphrodite. Mom. I know we’ve never actually met, but I think you care about me. I mean I’m your son and you gave me Louis. And thank you so much for that Mom, he is perfect and beautiful and I think I might be in love with him. But please, please, don’t take him from me. Please. I need him.” Harry’s definitely crying now but he doesn’t care. His mom loves relationship drama, maybe his tears will sway her. 

Harry kisses Louis’ forehead before resting his head on Louis’ thigh. He’s not leaving, not before Louis wakes up. He won’t let Louis wake up alone. 

-

Niall feels alone. Louis is unconscious, Harry won’t speak to anyone, Liam and Zayn will only have silent conversations with each other, and Niall is alone. 

Niall does not do well with being alone. 

He sits by the lake, alternating between watching his siblings run around trying to put the camp back together, and wishing he was with his friends. He’s never been by himself for so long, not even when he’s away from camp, and Niall feels like he’s sinking farther and farther into himself. 

He’s about to jump into the lake, just for something to do, just for a change of pace, just to bring him back to the world, when Josh walks up. Josh clops over to him, and falls to the ground next to him.

“How’re you holding up?” Josh asks, once he has his hooves under him. 

“Alright.” Niall responds. They sit in a heavy silence for a moment, both boys waiting for the other boy to speak. Niall finally breaks first. “Do you want to jump in the lake with me?”

“I’m a satyr.” Josh states slowly. “I don’t swim.”

“Right. Do you want to stay here while I jump into the lake?” Niall asks. He’s looking at the lake like it’s his savior and Josh is more than worried.

“Why do you want to jump in the lake?” Josh mumbles. Niall groans and throws himself backwards, laying on his back and staring up at the sun. “Are you okay?” 

“There’s Harry and Louis and then there’s Zayn and Liam and I don’t have anyone! If one of them is lonely they go to their boyfriend but if I’m lonely I have to think about jumping in a lake just in case the adrenaline knocks me out of it!” Niall whines. He presses his hands to his face and basks in his selfishness. Louis is unconscious and the camp is being rebuilt and Niall is upset because he’s single and lonely. 

“You can come to me. When you’re lonely. I’m pretty much always around so it’s no problem.” Josh says while pulling Niall’s hands away from his face so he can look at the blonde boy lying next to him.

“Really?” Niall asks with disbelief. It’s hard to see Josh because of the sun shining bright from behind him but he does look rather lovely from this angle. 

“Sure, Niall. Whatever you need.” Josh smiles sweetly and it lightens the load barring down on Niall. He stands and pulls Niall up behind him, brushes the grass off of the both of them, and takes Niall’s hand. “What do you say we forget the lake and go help restock the weaponry?” 

“Yeah, okay. I’m not very good at welding but I make a mean crossbow.” Niall says happily, pulling Josh along behind him. They smile at the campers they pass and Niall can’t help but notice how close the camp is to being back to normal. All they’re missing is Louis. 

-

Andy goes to the infirmary because the hydra threw him into a tree and he cut his arm pretty bad and it needs new bandages. That’s it, the entire reason. He does not go because he’s looking for Harry or to see if Louis is okay. His arm really does hurt.

Except Harry is at the infirmary. They’re the only ones there so Andy might as well talk to him.

He clears his throat for about five minutes, trying to get Harry to look up and notice him but he won’t stop staring at where Louis lays completely still on the bed. “Hey, Harry.”

“Hey, Andy.” Harry says without looking up. So Harry does know he’s here.

“How’re you holding up?” Andy asks. 

“Not well.” Harry replies flatly. And this couldn’t be more awkward. Andy knows Harry’s not his biggest fan but he’s usually something close to nice about it. 

“Right. Well, okay.” Andy starts rifling through the supply cabinet, trying to be quiet and not disturb Harry. “Hey, Harry.”

“What, Andy? What do you want?” Harry says harshly, finally looking at him. He looks so tired and drained and _sad_. 

“I just wanted to say,” Andy has to pause and think about it, but yes, this is something he needs to say. He feels guilty, alright, very guilty. “I’m sorry about Louis. I hope he’ll be okay.” Harry turns away from him and back to Louis. “Also. I’m sorry that I always gave you and Louis a hard time. You’re good for each other.”

“Thanks.” Harry says. 

Andy grabs a banana and hands it to Harry. “You ought to eat something.” He stays just long enough to make sure Harry actually opens the banana and takes a bite. Then he’s gone, back to his cabin and his comfort zone. 

-

It’s not like Niall never spoke to Josh before – it’s not exactly a huge camp and Niall, honestly, knows everyone – it’s just now that he’s noticing the Josh is more than the klutzy satyr that shows up sometimes. 

It’s like Josh is this calming presents that Niall didn’t know he needed. Josh will smile at Niall, or touch the back of his neck, and it’s like it reels Niall back to himself. The insane, uncontrollable feelings he’ll be having leave with one look from Josh and Niall feels like Niall again.

“Have I thanked you recently?” Niall asks. They’re organizing the new weapons and Niall just feels so calm. Niall’s world is close to falling apart, but Niall feels safe with Josh. 

“Thank me for what?” Josh hands him a sword and Niall has to pause at how right it feels in his hand. 

“You know what for.” Niall laughs and bumps Josh’s shoulder lightly.

“You’re welcome.” Josh says, blushing and looking down. Niall rolls his eyes, grabs Josh’s jaw, and kisses him square on the lips. It’s not much, but Niall’s been feeling a lot of things recently. Josh’s eyes are wide when Niall pulls back.

“Don’t look so surprised!” Niall cries with a loud laugh. “We all saw this coming!” 

-

Zeus is in the room when Harry wakes up. It’s dark in the room, the only light emulating from Zeus as he shuffles a deck of cards over and over again. 

“Ah, Harry. You’re awake.” Zeus says without looking up. He stands and walks over to Harry. He pulls a chair and a card table that are way too nice and famous to belong at the camp. 

“What are you doing here?” Harry asks, sleepily. He’s hand is still tightly holding on to Louis but the boy looks like he hasn’t moved. 

It’s not like Zeus doesn’t care about Louis. He’s just a very busy guy and he doesn’t always have time for his son. Zeus does what he can for Louis. He brought him to camp when his mother died and gave him a weapon and tries to protect him. 

“Would you like to play a card game, Harry?” Zeus asks calmly. He sits down and starts dealing the cards.

“No.” Harry states, gauging Zeus for his reaction. He seems calm now and he’s always been patient with Harry, but Zeus is still a god and he could still kill Harry without a moment of hesitation. 

“Let’s play a game, Harry.” Zeus says. He slides a pile of the cards over to Harry and he picks them up with his free hand. Zeus doesn’t say what game they’re playing so Harry just places cards down when prompted. “Do you know why the hydra came to camp?”

“Did he get lost?” Harry asks dryly. 

“He came because he could sense Louis.” Zeus looks up at Harry and his eyes are the same shade of blue as Louis’. Harry should probably be paying better attention to the god in front of him, but he can’t stop glancing back at Louis, just to make sure he’s still there and breathing steadily. 

“Because he’s your son.” Harry whispers.

“Yes. The hydra came here because he could sense that there was a child of Zeus here.” Zeus takes the remaining cards from Harry’s hand and starts shuffling the deck again. “Louis will always have a difficult life. There will always be things that want Louis dead. That’s why I cannot permit him to leave the camp.”

“I know that.” Harry says, rubbing his thumb over the vein in Louis’ wrist. Zeus puts the deck of cards down and fixes him with a sharp look.

“Louis can’t do it by himself. He can try but it’s just not possible.” Zeus says.

“He has me.” Harry replies sternly. 

“Yes he does. However, you are useless against most monsters. All you do is give my son one more thing to worry about when he should only be worried about himself.” Zeus stands and walks through the card table separating them so he’s looming over Harry.

“What exactly are you trying to tell me, sir?” Harry’s trying not to show Zeus how frightened he is, but one wrong move and Harry is turned into a cloud. 

“If you cared about my son, you would stay away. Let him find someone else who could actually help him. Give him a chance to survive.” Zeus fixes Harry with a hard look, daring Harry to talk back. 

There’s a loud clap of thunder and Harry wakes up, completely alone again in the infirmary. 

-

Liam is the camps unofficial leader when Louis is unavailable. Louis has never actually been unavailable until now, but Liam thinks he’s doing all right under the circumstances. 

He's working on getting the hydra out of the forest and leads a group around in search of how the hydra got in. They have to rebuild the supplies they wasted on the hydra and tend to the wounded. It’s a lot to get done and Liam does most of it distracted. 

He’s worried. He’s worried about Louis and Harry and Niall, who seems to be withdrawing from all of them. And somewhere in the back of his mind he’s worried about himself and Zayn, and what they’re going to do now that they’re out of school.

The idea of going to college or getting a job almost seems to far-fetched. As half-bloods they can’t get that lucky. But they can’t just stay at camp. At some point they have to go out and live as normal people and _do things_. Liam’s only ever been good at being a half-blood.

Zayn pulls Liam away from his new duties sometime around when they should be eating dinner.

“You’re working way too hard.” Zayn says. He takes Liam to the border of camp and sits them underneath the oak tree. This spot has always worked wonders for Zayn, made him feel light and creative, and he’s hoping it’ll do something similar for Liam. He’s not sure how it could not though. There’s something magical about the way the moonlight moves through the thick branches of the tree to illuminate the ground around them that Liam just can’t ignore.

“There’s a lot to get done.” Liam sighs. “And we don’t have a lot of time to do it.” 

“We’ve got all summer, Liam.” Zayn pokes at Liam’s shin with his toe until Liam stops massaging his temple and actually smiles at him. “You don’t have to get it all done tonight. And you don’t have to do it alone. I can help you know.” 

“I know. Thank you.” Liam presses his lips to Zayn’s cheekbone and lets his boyfriend rub his shoulders and whisper a poem into his ear. “Can I ask you something, Zayn?” 

“And ruin this beautiful moment I made us?” Zayn laughs softly in Liam’s ear and, yes, the tree and the moonlight and the company are doing wonders for the tension rooted in Liam’s body. “Ask me anything.” 

“What are we going to do now? With our lives? I mean, we’re done with high school and I didn’t apply to college. Where do we go from here?” Liam asks. He can feel Zayn shifting behind him and he turns to see Zayn lounging in the grass. Liam lies next to him and they look up at the stars through the trees.

“I think we should live near by. Just in case the camp needs us.” Zayn starts. “Maybe we could open our own comic book shop!” 

Liam laughs deeply at the open glee in Zayn’s face. “That sounds great.”

“I’m really excited, Liam. I think we should draw up a business plan soon, there’s no time like the present.” Zayn’s eyes sparkle as he talks, brainstorming how their comic book store will be different then all the other comic book stores in New York, and Liam can’t stop laughing. He feels silly now, thinking they would have to scramble to find their footing in the real world. They’ll be okay, obviously. 

-

Harry does everything he can to avoid sleeping. If he doesn’t sleep, he doesn’t dream, and he doesn’t have to listen to Zeus telling him Louis would be better off without him. That’s the main thing keeping Harry awake: some part of him knows that he is hurting his boyfriend, hurting _Louis_ , just by being around. 

He’d leave, he’d grab his stupid knife and start walking and not look back until he’s in Montana, if it meant Louis would be safe. Except, Harry doesn’t think he could handle it. Being apart from Louis hurts too much and Harry doesn’t hate himself enough to put himself through that. He’ll just settle for knowing he’s putting Louis in danger. 

So he can’t leave the infirmary and he can’t sleep. Harry spends his days counting Louis’ pulse and telling him stories about the life they’ll have. He’s thinking pets and day trips to New York City. Harry thinks Louis would like that considering he’s never seen the outside world.

Problem is it’s been ten days and still no sign of Louis waking up. 

Harry finally gets to the place where he knows he’s too exhausted to dream. He climbs up on Louis’ bed, his head in Louis’ lap, Louis’ wrist still enclosed in Harry’s fingers rest on his shoulder. 

“Think I’m going to take a nap, Lou.” Harry whispers. “You’re always saying I should get more sleep.” Harry kisses Louis’ fingertips before shutting his eyes, silently asking his mother to grant him a peaceful sleep.

-

Harry wakes up to fingers softly scratching his scalp. Liam, he thinks, trying to calm him down enough to give him bad news. He can’t take that, not now, and buries his head in the blanket surrounding him in a last ditch effort to hide. 

There’s a small chuckle above him and the feeling of a calloused fingertip on his jawline. It’s familiar, so _familiar_ , that Harry can feel the hope rising in him. Harry lifts his head and, yep, there’s blue eyes twinkling fondly at him. 

“Good morning, babe.” Louis smiles gently at him. His voice is small and rough from days without use but it’s his voice. This isn’t a dream, Harry’s sure, and he’s finding it hard to contain himself. 

He wraps himself around Louis, pressing kisses on every inch of skin he can find. Louis holds him tightly, whispering reassuring things and telling him to breath. 

“Are you okay?” Harry finally asks, remember that Louis health really should be his main concern. 

“Yeah, Hazza. I’m good as new.” Louis’ fingers are back in Harry’s curls, cradling his head like Harry’s the one who’s hurt. Harry soaks Louis in, relishing in Louis’ gentle touches and soft voice for as long as possible. Finally, Harry has to be responsible and get Josh to check on Louis and tell the others that Louis awake. 

“Stay here,” Harry say sternly, seemingly unaffected by Louis pout, “I’ll be right back.”

Harry all but dances around the camp, singing that Louis’ awake, Louis’ okay, everyone celebrate. He skips back to the infirmary, his friends in tow, barely able to control his limbs with how happy he is. 

Josh asks Louis a bunch of questions to check his memory before making him walk around the room and stretch out his joints, Harry by his side the whole way. Liam and Zayn babble about all the progress the camps making while asking for advice for their new business venture. Niall jumps around happily, planting kisses on Josh whenever he gets too close. Louis smiles happily at his family.

They’re back together and everyone’s okay. It’s taken a lot and they almost all didn’t make it but here they are, together in an infirmary. 

-

The camp has a feast the night Louis wakes up. Partly because Louis is the camp favorite, and partly because they defeated a hydra without a single casualty. It’s still not technically allowed, but they all sit at the same table at dinner, making up for lost time. Summer is almost over and they don’t have much time together before they have to separate again.

Louis imagines they’ll still be like this years from now. Like maybe they’ll get together every now and then and eat together. Louis imagines Josh and Harry cooking a feast for the six of them while Louis alternates between distracting Harry and playing soccer with Niall, Zayn and Liam. They’d spend hours talking and drinking and catching up. After Liam would wash the dishes while Zayn dries. Louis wants to scoff at how domestic and boring it sounds but instead he just blushes at how peaceful it will be and how much he wants it.

Louis drawn out of his daydream by different campers coming up to him, telling him they’re glad he’s doing better and that Harry has come back to the land of the living. 

“You two are the camp’s new favorite couple.” Liam says, sliding his pudding over to Louis. “It used to be us.”

“It’s the height difference.” Zayn adds. “So cute.”

“Josh and I should be the camp couple!” Niall exclaims, throwing his arms in the air. “Think about it. I’m a demigod, he’s a satyr. We are cute and special!”

“We’re a couple?” Josh asks softly, hope clearly in his eyes. 

“I mean, yeah.” Niall answers. Josh smiles happily and blushes when the others coo at them. 

Later, Louis takes Harry back to his cabin. They stand in the middle of the room, lost in their own thoughts. 

“I think your mom woke me up.” Louis starts. “I think she likes us together. I just kept hearing this woman telling me that I couldn’t die because we had the best relationship out of all her children.” 

“That sounds like my mom.” Harry says. 

“Well she was very helpful. Oh, and I heard you a lot. You kept going on about how we couldn’t get a cat together if I died. It was very encouraging.” Louis smiles brightly at his boyfriend, happy that Harry wants a future with him.

“I was just trying to help.” Harry mutters, followed by, “I think your dad tried to put me to sleep.”

“What?” Louis asks, his eyes flickering to the night sky out the window, watching for any sign of lightning. He leads Harry over to bed and sits him down before settling in his lap.

“He kept coming to me in my dreams and telling me to stay away from you. He thought I would get you hurt because you always have to watch out for me. I think he was trying to keep me asleep so I’d have to stay away from you.” Harry answers. “I’m really sorry, Lou.”

“What are you sorry for?” Louis asks.

“Because he’s right! I always have to be protected! Even with the hydra, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt if you weren’t trying to protect me. I’d leave, really I would, to protect you for a change. I was going to leave. I just couldn’t do it; couldn’t let go of your hand. I’m sorry I’m so selfish, Louis.” Harry has to look away from Louis’ eyes and instead watches the way Louis’ hand tighten his hold on Harry’s shirt.

“Don’t you dare leave.” Louis states, a tough look in his eyes. “Don’t even think about it. My father is wrong. You have to know that.” Louis lays them down, far from any of the room’s windows. “You make me stronger. You give me something to protect.” Harry fits himself completely against Louis and butts at his chin to get him to keep talking. “It doesn’t matter what my father wants. This isn’t his life, it’s mine. And it’s pointless if I don’t have you. Please stay with me?”

"Of course I will. Always. I love you, Louis.” Harry whispers. 

“I love you too, Harry.” Louis slots their lips together and it’s like he can hear Aphrodite squealing somewhere in the distance. “Now, will you tell me more? About this wonderful life we’re going to have?” 

Harry blushes and sighs happily. “We’ll need a bigger house. I love your cabin but it’s just too small. Maybe we can build off of it.”

“Sounds wonderful, Hazza.” Louis falls asleep to the sound of Harry planning out their future. He vaguely recalls Harry’s deep grumble saying some of it before, but it doesn’t feel like a fairytale anymore. This is something he can have, something he will have. And no one, not Zeus nor Aphrodite, can stop them for having their happy ending.


End file.
